YouGov survey: Four out of five want to travel / 46% want to book at least one more trip / High willingness to pay for additional services
Vienna (ots) – The booking situation for summer 2024 is encouraging. “Summer business is in full swing. Summer bookings at TUI are currently in double-digit growth,” says Gottfried Math, Managing Director of TUI Austria, at the start of the Vienna Holiday Fair. “Many families booked their summer vacation particularly early this year, also thanks to our low children’s fixed prices. Overall, we are seeing a significant increase in family bookings,” Math continues. Turkey in particular is particularly popular with families. Currently, children can travel to selected hotels in Turkey in the summer months by booking a flight package trip from 149 euros until April 1st. Couples also book significantly earlier. Demand for TUI Blue’s adult hotels is increasing by 15 percent.
Overall, bookings will be made longer in advance for next summer. The strongest booking months are currently July before June and August. “The willingness to travel is still high and we expect a strong season. The package holiday remains by far the most popular form of travel, supplemented by experiences and excursions on site,” explains Math.
The results of a current representative YouGov survey also show that the desire to travel continues to increase. 79 percent of all respondents want to travel in 2024. 33 percent have already booked and 46 percent, who have not yet booked, are planning one or more vacation trips. 77 percent of those surveyed are planning a trip abroad, a quarter are planning a flight around the Mediterranean. Almost half travel to neighboring countries. This is also reflected in the TUI booking figures: with an increase in guests of 37 percent, Croatia is up on the previous year.
Beach vacation most popular type of travel: vacationers want sun, beach and sea
As the current YouGov survey shows, a beach holiday with sun, sand and sea remains the most popular form of travel at 48 percent. City trips come second on the popularity scale at 33 percent. Holidays in the countryside and in the mountains made it into the top three types of holiday at 22 percent. New in this segment this summer is the TUI Kids Club Narzissendorf Zloam on Lake Grundlsee in Styria.
Antalya remains at the top
The current YouGov survey results are consistent with TUI booking trends. Holidays around the Mediterranean will be more in demand in summer 2024 than ever before. The Turkish Riviera around Antalya remains the undisputed number one destination with a current booking increase of 28 percent, closely followed by Crete and Mallorca. “In Turkey we want to exceed the mark of one hundred thousand guests from Austria,” announced Math. Many new openings and new additions make the holiday particularly interesting this year. The new TUI Magic Life Beldibi will open in Kemer next month as an adults-only club. Many Rixos hotels can now also be booked exclusively through TUI.
Greece is by far the number one favorite holiday destination for TUI guests. Here too, the program has been expanded, for example with the new TUI Suneo Faliraki for price-conscious guests on Rhodes. The favorite Greek island of Crete comes in second in the TUI ranking, followed by Mallorca, Rhodes, Kos and Hurghada in third to sixth place. Larnaca and Karpathos are in seventh and eighth place, followed by Corfu and Thessaloniki.
Long-distance travel continues to increase in summer. The USA continues to expand its position as number one, followed by Thailand and the Maldives. As a newcomer in recent years, Zanzibar has secured sixth place on the long-distance route. TUI is opening the first hotel of its new luxury brand The Mora there in the spring, which appeals to high-income customers who are more likely to invest in experiences than luxury goods.
The great interest in city trips, the second most popular form of travel among YouGov respondents, is also reflected in the TUI figures with a 20 percent increase in bookings. The frontrunner is New York, followed by Hamburg and London. Rome, the capital of Italy, is the rising star in city trips with an increase of 38 percent.
Travelers treat themselves to more
Holidaymakers treat themselves more and are happy to spend more money on additional services on holiday. In first place is the room with a sea view or the balcony cabin on the ship, on a par with the rental car on site (33% each). Also in demand: a seat on the plane with more legroom (30%), excursions and experiences (29%) and a private transfer from the airport to the hotel (27%). A quarter of younger people (25-34 year olds) are interested in a room with direct pool access. Math says: “Additional services for more enjoyment and comfort on vacation are becoming increasingly important. We are seeing significant increases in the number of extras booked.”
20 percent of younger people are willing to pay more for a hotel that is characterized by ecological and social commitment. According to the survey, it is six percent of those over 55 years old. Local food and regional products, on the other hand, are very popular with all those surveyed, at almost 50 percent.
The luxury travel market is also growing rapidly. airtours, TUI’s luxury travel brand, is experiencing a sharp increase in demand for unique ultra-luxury experiences.
Around a third value personal advice from a travel agency
According to the current YouGov survey, personal advice from a travel agency is important to 32 percent. Almost a quarter of those surveyed plan to book more of their trips through travel agencies again. In general, however, the willingness to book online is higher. This development is supported by TUI’s omnichannel strategy by directly linking the stationary travel agencies with TUI.at. TUI continues to invest in highly modern sales: by the end of 2025, all TUI Das Reisebüro locations in Austria will have a top modern, sustainable shop design.
About the study / YouGov survey: The data is based on an online survey by YouGov Germany, in which 1049 people in Austria took part between February 9th and 15th, 2024. The results were weighted and are representative of the Austrian population according to age (from 18 years), gender and region.
Information and booking at any good travel agency and at www.tui.at/sommerurlaub.
